Locations

The King’s Court – Belize 2012

I am up early, 4:30 AM, the last day at El Pescador. I could fish for bonefish, and I love bonefish, catching as many as I have time for, but I’m starting to understand things about flats fly fishing. When the King is holding court, you attend.

Tomas, my guide for the day, is waiting for me before the sun breaks over the horizon. “I should have told you last night to leave at 4” he says. I think a 5 AM push off is pretty good, especially in the light of it being the last day of my honeymoon. My wife is in bed, asleep I hope and I’m off to hunt tarpon between Ambergris and the mainland. As we get into the panga to depart the air is still, the water calm, the silence loud. It is pure smoothness as we slide through the water, heading West.

Soon, our first stop. A mangrove island full of bird calls. The sun is just emerging, but is hidden behind a wall of gray. Clouds coming from the East have stalled with no more wind to carry them. One massive cloud sits above us, seemingly forgetting its race across the sky, content to look down on Ambergris, on us.

Stillness

The water, still and unmoving, reflecting the grey underbelly of this huge cloud, is indistinguishable from sky. We try to peer into sheets of cold, grey steel.

We wait and watch for rolling fish. There is only stillness and birdsong.

Reel up and run.

The cloud has not moved. The air is still. The sun is climbing. The water still impenetrable. The fish hidden.

Reel up and run. This time all the way to the mainland where the same story is told. We have not seen a fish.

We run back to the East and find a break in the clouds, but the glare on the water is still difficult, still like trying to see through polished steel.

Totally still.

The air remains static and while we finally have the lights on I now grasp the other disadvantage of a windless day on the water. The heat. It is hot. Really hot. I try to find even an inch or two of shade from the low gunwales on the bow of the panga to provide respite to my baking feet. The light blue deck is molten.

“Gulp.”

Tarpon breaking. We see them. They are in range and I make the cast, landing the light 3/0 bunny 3 feet in front of the lead fish. He charges, inhales, I strike viciously and the fish bolts into the air. I bow, the fish lands and the fly parts company with the fish, excused.

Damn.

“We’ll get the next one in the boat” says Tomas.

He’s wrong.

The next one I won’t see in the glare and I’ll put the fly right on his head. He’ll bolt.

The next one is too close to the boat to cast to.

The next one is 30 feet too far away.

The next one isn’t interested.

The next one I line.

The next one I can’t see and again put the fly on his head, which he is not keen on.

As we search for fish the wind is an absent player, but in place of the wind is the heat. It is smothering, intense heat. I have sweat dripping down the backs of my legs. My shirt is soaked. My feet, even through my polarized lenses, look bright, fire red. I feel like I am losing gallons of water a minute, but I’m hesitant to take my eyes off the water to get more fluids. I don’t want to miss the King.

The next fish I spot just as Tomas is about to point it out. I say “Tarpon, 12 o’clock” and point my rod. Tomas says “yes!” A school of 5, maybe 7, heading right at us. I cast, a good cast, and the lead fish charges the fly and crushes it. I strip set, feel the fish and then, inexplicably, sweep the rod. The fly is out, but the fly is still in play. I strip again and the second fish charges. I set. I feel the fish. I set again. The fish leaps in the air. I bow. I still have the fish. I start to think about getting the fish on the reel, getting ready for the battle. The fish jumps again and I bow and the fly… it unbuttons.

Tomas has no complaints. He says I did everything right, on the second fish.

Tomas does not say we’ll get the next one in the boat.

The next fish I cast behind.

The next fish comes with a gang and follows, chases the fly too close to the boat, but the school is still there. I cast in the middle of the milling fish and one smashes the bunny before I can get ready. The chance is gone and so are the fish.

There is no next fish. I realize if we actually find another fish I wouldn’t have the time to fight it. The trip is done, the honeymoon is about to be too, but this was a good day. I got my shots and I just didn’t convert. This is why we play the game.

A beautiful, wonderful, windless day in Belize.

“If it were easy, everyone would do it” says Tomas.

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Great Honeymoon or The Greatest Honeymoon?

It has been said before, I’m a lucky guy. I managed to find a smart, beautiful woman who not only would agree to marry me, but would also agree to go to Belize, to El Pescador, for our honeymoon. How awesome is that?

I wanted to share my love of the flats with my new wife, but I also wanted to have other activities to do on our honeymoon (beyond the activities that normally come to mind). El Pescador proved to be exactly what we wanted. Not only did we get some fishing in, but there were other experiences that we both really enjoyed.

We snorkeled with sharks and rays. We saw Mayan ruins. We spent a little time in San Pedro. We walked on the beach. We sat by the pool. We ate. We drank. We read. We pretty much thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

While the new Mrs. got massages, I took a kayak out in the lagoon in back, finding fish each time. I even managed to get a couple of bonefish off the dock, which was a total bonus (there was even feeding of tarpon, which was totally ruling).

Nurse Shark, snorkeling with El Pescador.

My wife wanted me to mention specifically how good the food was. It was pretty good. We even had a private dinner arranged at the end of the dock, and that was a special experience.

Pork, Chicken, Lobster, Beef and various kinds of fish. It was great. All of it. We both ate too much. There was dessert every night.

One sure way I know the honeymoon was a success… she says we can go back for our anniversary (she says 5th, I’m thinking 1/5).

Basically, it was wonderful.

Locations — 1 Comment
17
Sep 12

Back to reality

OK all… I’m back after a wonderful week at El Pescador down in Belize for my honeymoon. We had a lot of really great experiences down there and I’ll run though the more fishy of those here over the next week. I also managed to do a little fishing. The new Mrs. went out with me one day and we had a good time on the flats, which was kind of a big deal. Other times she got a massage and I’d go out in the lagoon in back. Hard to complain.

One thing I was really very proud of was that I managed to catch a couple of dock fish. Dock fish are kind of hard, in my limited experience. Not big, but a good dock fish.

My first fish of the trip, from the El Pescador dock!

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Locations — 5 Comments
07
Sep 12

These next few days

I didn’t write a post last night, I was writing my vows for my upcoming wedding (Sunday). Yes… I actually do mention bonefish in the vows. No, really.

These next few days are likely going to be kind of a whirlwind and I’m betting I won’t have much time to post here on the blog, although I’ll try to post a few little pictures and things like that.

I’m thinking I’ll reply my last trip to El Pescador over the next week, as that is where I’ll be for my honeymoon. Funny thing is I might actually run into a couple of BOTB readers down there, which should be fun.

So, stay tuned… I’ll be riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight back.

It will be good to be back, especially with the Mrs.

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Locations — 1 Comment
08
Aug 12

Stay safe out there

UPDATED: Heard from El Pescador, Tulum Fly Fishing and Pesca Maya (Punta Allen) and it looks like everyone rode out the storm just fine. Good news all around.

Ah… storm season. The first storms of the season are making landfall around the Caribbean. Ernesto is currently hitting near Punta Allen (probably passed on by the time you all read this). Of course, as someone set to have their honeymoon in Belize in September, I’m kind of hoping for a brief and light Hurricane Season, but you don’t really get to call these sorts of things.

Here is the latest facebook update from El Pescador in Belize:

Hi Friends – Thank you for all of your emails and calls. We are still open for business and have not closed nor evacuated. My family, our staff and guests are here on property and all of the guides are safe at their homes in town. We are almost complete all of our storm preparations – but are hoping for the best. The storm is tracking north of us and should make landfall around 75 miles north of us (north of Mahujal, Mx). Since the strongest winds are only 15 miles out from the center – we are hopeful that we will be far enough away from the circulation. It is dead clam right now – guests are wading up and down the beach for bones. I will send an update tomorow as soon as we receive the “all clear.” Have a great night! Talk soon.

So, stay safe out there and I hope this doesn’t screw up anyone’s fishing (or honeymoon!).

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Locations — 4 Comments
04
Aug 12

For the Ladies – Bonefishing School

The folks at Deneki are hosting a bonefishing school for women down at Andros South.

Awesome.

At the school will be Kara Armano and Bruce Chard, as well as the guides and good folk at Andros South.

Building on the success of our very popular Bonefishing School program, our Women’s School will be co-hosted by Kara Armano and Bruce Chard. You’ll get hands-on instruction from the best in the business, plenty of time on the legendary flats of Andros Island, and the company of a bunch of women who love fishing as much as you do – what could be better?

Now, I think my future Mrs. Bonefishonthebrain might not be totally set for this just yet and won’t have the vacation time anyway, but man… how fantastic would it be for her to have a safe and supportive place to connect with the flats and the fish that live there?

I’ve been to Andros South and it is still a place I keep close to my heart/soul. The wildness of the place and the beauty of the countryside are really mind-numbing.

Hope it fills up and creates some lasting impressions.

Andros South, for the ladies.

Locations — 7 Comments
25
Jul 12

Killar bonefishing

Local papers sometimes run stories about folks from their area having great travel experiences. With a Google Alert set for bonefishy news, I sometimes see these stories come in through my in-box.

This story is interesting because it isn’t your normal trip. It is actually one of the Destination X trips from Angling Destinations. Because of that, we won’t get to know exactly where they were, but it sounds interesting.

One of the best parts of the story is that the main protagonist’s name is “Killar” which sounds like a pretty hard-core prison nickname.

Ten fish is a good day of bonefishing, and each of the guys had more than 10 in the first couple of hours. Killar said the fish he caught averaged more than 6 pounds — including a 10-pounder.

Locations — No Comments
24
Jul 12

H2O Bonefishing – Grand Bahama

Saw this clip on the Yellow Dog Flyfishing Adventures facebook page and had to share. It even includes the ever elusive Bahamian Permit. The video features H20 Bonefishing, guides out of GBI.

[vimeo clip_id=”45707408″]

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Locations — No Comments
20
Jul 12

Dylan to the Yucatan

I grew up in Dunsmuir, CA. I used to describe it to people as “It’s like Oregon, but in California.” I think that description still stands, really. One of the places we’d head (pretty often, really) was Ashland, OR. They do a little Shakespeare up there and they do it well. They also have one of the big travel companies in Fly Water Travel. Recently, Dylan Rose (a relatively new hire there, I think) went off to go scout out operations in the Yucatan (Pesca Maya mostly, I think). He brought back some stories and some pretty cool pictures.

Dylan with a Jack

My very first cast of the trip yielded a brilliant bonefish that slurped up my Ververka’s Mantis Shrimp like it had been waiting its whole life for my fly to magically appear in front of its face. I would come to find out that this first cast bone would define the rest of the bonefish I would encounter during my time in Ascension Bay.

Locations — 4 Comments
02
Jul 12

Interview with Bill Horn – Seasons on the Flats

I first learned about Seasons on the Flats by seeing some of the art work for the book done by Bob White. That got me interested and so I tracked down Bill Horn and asked him to do an interview. That we did. It took me a while (like, 3 months) to sit down to transcribe it and it was at that point I realized the recording must not have started on the phone call… “0 Seconds” is all it said.

Crap.

So, Bill finally sent me an email on something else and I had to confess that I had failed to record the initial interview and he quickly, and graciously, offered to do it a second time. So, I’m glad to have this interview with Bill Horn, author of the upcoming Seasons on the Flats (out this month), to share with all of you.

The Author, Bill Horn

Your book is called “Seasons on the Flats,” what was it that drove you to write this book?

I did a few magazine articles (my first ventures into outdoor writing) and submitted one titled “Tarpon Camp” that got rejected. Started to rework it and got the idea of taking a Keys’ visitors through an angler’s season. That idea, and the fun of telling tales about these wonderful little islands, got me going and the “book” just poured out in the next few weeks. “Seasons” is my love letter to the Keys.

Given the book chronicles the seasons, which is your favorite to be there?

Ouch – that’s a tough question as each season has its distinct pleasures. Summer is probably my favorite with good bonefishing, permit, junior tarpon in the backcountry, enough big poons to make it interesting, lobster season, night reef fishing, and hanging out on sandbars in warm clear waters with a cold one in hand. Of course, this gets interrupted periodically by hurricanes and tropical storms but it’s the price you pay for being in subtropical latitudes.

The Keys have a reputation as being a bit rough… the fishing is difficult, the guides prone to yelling and the number of people to contend with are growing… how do you feel the stereotypes match the reality?

The Keys’ flats demand your “A” game but that’s what makes it great — it is never boring. These are the major leagues for flats anglers. The tarpon and permit fishing remain excellent and bonefish are still there (just not in the numbers in places like the Bahamas or Mexico). And newcomers shouldn’t shy away. The guides might be intense (the days of yelling are years past) but damn they’re good and a few days with a veteran Keys’ guide is a great learning experience. Crowding and conflicts with others do occur, especially during spring tarpon and in the Upper Keys, but that’s why there’s summer and fall and the Middle Keys.

This is my kind of thing.

When you look at the future of fishing in the Keys, what are the biggest threats?

Water quality is the big threat but the outlook is good. The Keys are systematically retiring their septic systems and that should improve inshore waters. Plus the Everglades restoration projects are finally getting into gear and in a few years water flowing into Florida Bay (quantity and quality) should also get better. Although not a threat per se, the years of not knowing much about bonefish, permit and tarpon are ending. Research by BTT and the Florida Wildlife Commission are shedding new light on fish migrations, spawning behavior, rearing habitats, etc. With this kind of information finally available, there will be new opportunities to make good fishery management decisions to bring back the bonefish to historical levels and hold onto the great tarpon and permit fisheries we presently enjoy.

When looking for bonefish, what is your go-to rig (rod/reel)?

I’m pretty old school – been using the same 8 weight Scott STS and Abel 3N for years. I like to upline my rods and have grown partial to the Wulff Bermdua lines. Use as long as leader as you can and my favorite Keys bonefish fly may be a surprise – a big old #2 Red Headed Gotcha.

The Keys are also knows for their characters. You have a story about one of those?

Being the end of the road, an eclectic entertaining bunch of souls do collect in the Keys. For regular chuckles, check out the “crime reports” in the Key West newspaper. Last year’s favorite was a minor car wreck caused by a woman shaving her nether regions while driving to her boyfriend’s house with her ex-husband in the car.

I have seen some of the illustrations in the book done by Bob White. How did you come to work with him?

Met Bob about 20 years ago when he was head guide for Tikchik Narrows Lodge in Alaska. We fished together and I was an instant admirer of his art. When the book was almost done, I wanted it to look classy and that meant one thing – get Bob to do the illustrations. It took one phone call to make it happen. His 15 pencil sketches in “Seasons” are wonderful; the three maps and the hammerhead shark are my favorites and you can purchase originals or prints from him.

Work by Bob White

In our fishing lives we run into people who, for one reason or another, give of their knowledge to help us out. Is there someone who has been instrumental to your growth as a flats fisherman down in the Keys?

Getting introduced to Albert Ponzoa, Bus Bergmann, and Rich Keating – three outstanding Marathon guides – really opened the door to the Keys’ flats. I had fished the Keys as a kid in the 50’s, and caught my first bonefish in 1974, but these guys took me to a whole new level. They taught me a lot, prodded me to improve my skills, laughed and cheered when we enjoyed success, and cried with me when the fish kicked my ass. An angler, and friend, can’t ask for more.

Thanks for doing this twice Bill and I look forward to reading that book!

Bonefish on the Brain Bonefish and all that relates (maybe a bit about tarpon too).